


One Step at a Time

by fair_haven



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hostage Situations, Mention of Suicide Attempt, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27564544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fair_haven/pseuds/fair_haven
Summary: Angela and Wesley embark on a new phase of their relationship.
Relationships: Wesley Evers/Angela Lopez
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off this is my submited fic in almost 15 years!! 
> 
> This is the first of a series of 3 so far. Not sure how many chapters yet, but it will be decently long. I will try to update once a week.
> 
> I don't own the characters.
> 
> Enjoy!

“And now we wait,” Wesley announced as Angela closed the bathroom door.

“This is going to be the longest three minutes of my life,” She flopped down on the bed next to him.

“2 minutes 28 seconds,” Wesley showed her the timer on his phone.

“So what do we want the outcome to be?” She sat up and turned towards him, “I feel like we should be on the same page,”

“We do want kids so-

“But we aren’t even married yet. If I am pregnant, by September I’ll be huge. And I won’t even be able to drink at my own wedding,”

“We could postpone the wedding. Nothing is set in stone,” Wesley tried to be diplomatic.

“And have our kid at our wedding?”

He shrugged, “It might not be too bad. We could figure out a way to incorporate them into the wedding,’

Angela tensed. She was pretty sure she knew what the result would be. She was over a week late and her body was acting freaking weird.

“So the timing isn’t great, but we can make it work,”

“The timing is horrible. I start with Robbery and Homicide next week,”

“But if we’re going to have three-”

“Three?!” She turned to him, “I thought we were only having one and do I need to remind you who will be doing most of the work,”

“As an only child I always wanted a sibling,” That was one of the interesting things about them; their backgrounds were different in almost every possible way, but it worked somehow.

“Well, with 4 older brothers,” She countered, “All I wanted was some alone time. I read most of the Harry Potter books while locked in the bathroom so I could have some privacy.

“So we compromise at 2,” He looked over at her, “Are you scared?”

“I can take down men twice my size,” She looked over at him, “But I’m completely terrified. You?”

“I’m scared, but I really think that we can do this. I know it’s sooner than we planned, but I really do think that it’ll work out,” Sometimes his optimism was so dang annoying.

The timer went off.

They just looked at each other.

Wesley got up, but Angela didn’t. She felt like she was nailed down to the floor. She wanted to know, she needed to know.

He kneeled in front of her, “It’s going to be okay. No matter what happens everything will be okay,”

She nodded, “It’s going to be positive. I know it. My boobs hurt like hell. I’m nauseous all the time. I almost threw up after a call and I haven’t done that since I was a rookie,” She wiped away tears she hadn’t even realized were falling. Now she was going to have to redo her makeup before work, “Let’s go see if I’m crazy or pregnant,”

He stood up and held out his hand to her, she took it. Opening the door to the bathroom felt like opening the door into a known gang location or an active shooter. Part of her wanted her gun for security in case the test tried to attack her, but it just sat there silently mocking her on the white sink. She looked over at the test, not wanting to touch it, “Two lines,”

“Which means that we are going to be having a baby,” Wesley announced behind her holding the empty test box.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fears are tough to toss aside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the reviews and kudos! They mean a lot!
> 
> This chapter is a little longer than the first one, but still on the short side. I'm a slow writer, so otherwise it would be months between chapters.
> 
> Enjoy!

Wesley stared at the text message he’d just spent the last ten minutes obsessing over. He wanted to know that she was okay. No, he had to know she was okay. He also didn’t want her to think he was being paranoid. On the other hand, he had promised to tell her when he started to feel that way. 

He got up from his desk, leaving his phone, and walked over to one of several filing cabinets. He needed to get started on his deposition for Martha Maldonado’s case. Wesley took the file back to his desk and there was his phone sitting on his desk, mocking him. He tried to ignore it and focus on the deposition.

Rationally, he knew that Angela and the baby were safe. She was a good cop. No, she was a great cop. Still, he just couldn’t get the thought out of his head that something was wrong. That something could go wrong at any moment. His heart started to race as he pulled open his top desk drawer and groped around for the familiar slender orange bottle. He unscrewed the cap, dumped two in his hand, and swallowed them with a swig of water. 

He picked up his phone, one text wouldn’t hurt anything.

/How’s it going?/ He hit send before he could overanalyze it.

Wesley set his phone to the side and pulled a legal pad out to start writing the deposition. Every couple lines he glanced at his phone, but it stayed dark. After a full page, he picked up the phone and unlocked it. She hadn’t even read his messages, which didn’t necessarily mean that anything was wrong, but it didn’t mean everything was right either.

He put the phone down again and picked up his pen again. By the end of the second page he was pretty sure most of what he’d written was crap and he’d have to rewrite it tonight (which was what he’d had to do every night since that test came back positive). He set the pen down. 

What if something was wrong? What if he had already lost both of them? It had only been a couple of hours since he had last seen her, but with her job things could very wrong in seconds.

He tugged at his shirt collar. The room was too small. He had to get out. He carelessly swept his things into his briefcase and grabbed his phone on the way out.

***

11:35 am  
/How’s it going?/  
12:05 pm  
/Do you want to grab lunch?/  
12:45 pm  
/Is everything okay?/  
1:15 pm  
/Call me/  
1:47 pm  
/I just need to know you’re okay/  
2:18 pm  
/I love you/

Angela looked up from her phone as she walked back to the shop, “West, you good to drive? I need to call Wesley,” Today had just been one of those days with 5 arrests and 5 stops to use the bathroom before lunch. Still she felt guilty for missing so many texts from Wesley.

“Always,” She handed the keys to Jackson and got in on the passenger side.

Three rings and then voicemail. She tried again. Three rings and then voicemail. If he was passed out somewhere, she’d kill him.

“Everything okay?” Jackson asked as he got them back on the road.

“Wesley sent me 6 texts today and now he’s not answering his phone,”

“He’s probably just in court or in a meeting,”

She sighed, “Hopefully that’s all it is,”

Her phone rang and she let out a deep breath when she saw it was Wesley, “Hey baby,” Her voice sounded more urgent than she intended, “Everything okay?”

“It’s been a rough day, but I just took a shower and I do have an appointment with my therapist scheduled for tomorrow,” 

“Maybe you should try to see if they’ll give you something to help you sleep,”

“Sleeping isn’t the problem,” Wesley had been doing really well until they found she was pregnant, “Sleeping isn’t my problem. I stay up all night because I haven't been able to focus enough to get anything done during the day,”

“What do you think the problem is?” She caught Jackson’s gaze, but he quickly turned back to the road.

“I know what it is. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that could happen to you and the baby,” 

Angela shook her head slowly and closed her eyes briefly, “You don’t trust me to keep myself safe?!”

“I do. I trust you completely,” His voice fluctuated, “Rationally I know that you’re fine. I just can’t get those thoughts to stop. I’m okay during court or when I’m with a client, but if I’m alone I can’t stop worrying about you,”

“Are you saying that you want me to go on light duty already?”

“No, I’m just saying that I’m probably going to be sleep deprived until the baby comes and then after,”

“Okay,” She said hesitantly, “I’ll see you when I get home,” She ended the call and stared out the window.

“Everything okay?” Jackson asked.

“For the moment,”

“Does this have anything to do with you not having any coffee or soda for the past three days? Or the fact that we’ve been making ten times the number of bathroom breaks that we did a couple of weeks ago? Or the fact that you and Wesley postponed the wedding?”

Not exactly.

“So am I right? So are you-”

“I may not be your TO after tomorrow, but if you tell-”

“I won’t,” He looked over at her, “Is Wesley struggling with it or something?”

“No, I’m the one that’s freaking out. The timing is just horrible with me becoming detective and we also aren’t even married yet. I thought that he was handling it better than me, but I just found that he can’t get any work done during the day because he’s worried about me,”

“Well, it is a legitimate fear given the nature of the job,”

“I know and there’s part of me that just wants to tell him that he’s going to have to deal with it, but with what he’s been through I don’t want to push him,”

“You said he’s been doing better,”

“And he has been,” In her head she saw Wesley laying face down on the couch with empty pill and alcohol bottles on the table next to him, “I just don’t want to risk losing him,”

“I really don’t think he’d leave you because of your job. He knew what your job was when he asked you to marry him. Actually, he knew what your job was before you two even started dating,”

“It’s not that. Right before Lucy was kidnapped he had a really bad day. He got drunk and almost ODd on his anxiety meds,” She shifted in her seat, “If he gets that low again I’m worried that I won’t be able to wake him,” She wiped away a tear that hadn’t fallen yet. Damn hormones.

“But he’s been getting help, right?”

“Yes and he has an appointment tomorrow,”

“Burglary in progress at 4550 Gramecy,” The radio cackled.

Angela picked up the radio, “Show ADAM-17 responding,” Jackson flipped the lights and sirens and she shoved her personal issues to the back of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> I did some research, but I wasn't able to find the exact maternity policy for the LAPD. It does seem that most departments leave it up to the officer, which means more tension for the story. *evil laugh*
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I'm always open to suggestions!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Morning" sickness, reverse flirting, and Jackson spills the beans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving!
> 
> This chapter kinda just took on life of it's own. A male OC decided that he wanted in on the fun and who was to say no?
> 
> There is a tiny bit of Chenford in this chapter.
> 
> Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Happy reading!

“I’m home!” Angela called as she entered their apartment. Wesley got up from the desk to go greet her, he’d actually been able to make some progress since she’d texted him that she was on her way home, “And I brought pizza because I intend on spending most of tonight in bed,”

He took the box from her, “Must be nice. I still have to write a deposition and two motions before tomorrow,”

“I brought you some fuel,” She held up the plastic bag she was holding that contained a couple energy drinks, “And tonight may be your last late night,”

“Really?” He set the pizza box on the table and then headed to the kitchen.

“I talked to Grey and after tomorrow I’ll be on the front desk,”

“Why?” He came back to the dining room with some plates, “I thought you weren’t going to tell them until after your doctor’s appointment next week,”

She smiled at him in that way that drove him crazy, “You get very moody when you’re sleep deprived and if we’re both moody it’s going to be a very long 7 months,” She piled three pieces of pizza on her plate.

“Doesn’t that take away your tap for detective ?” He put two pieces of pizza on his plate, “And then you have to start the whole process over again, right?”

“Grey said that he’s going to try to get me attached to the station as a detective,” She picked up a slice, “And if that happens then I wouldn’t have to give up my tap,” She practically inhaled her first slice.

“But if that doesn’t happen then you’ll have to start the whole process over again,” He shook his head and sat back in his chair, “I can’t let you do that for me,”

“I’m not doing it just for you. I’m doing it for our family,” She picked up her second slice, “Now hurry up or I will eat the whole thing,” Her expression changed and she dropped the slice of pizza back onto her plate.

“Angela?” She jumped up and ran to the bedroom, “Angela!” He got up and followed her, his heart racing.

He found her in the bathroom emptying her dinner into the toilet. He sat down behind her and rubbed her back until she finished. When she was done she sat back against the wall with her eyes closed.

“Everything okay now?” He asked, touching her leg.

“It just came on suddenly,” She opened her eyes, “I guess the pizza was a bad idea,”

“Do you want some water?”

She nodded. Wesley headed back back out to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed back to the bathroom. He heard her sobs as soon as he entered the bedroom. In seconds he was by her side again.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” He’d been gone for maybe a minute and she’d completely broken down. This was new territory for them. 

“It’s too real. Everyday the pregnancy just seems more real. And it’s so scary! I hate that I feel this way. I want to just be able to embrace it and be a good mom, but it’s just so scary. And everyone is going to find out tomorrow night because I always drink at these things. Nolan will offer up some outdated advice. TIm will act like I’m destroying my career and honestly I probably am. Harper will probably talk about how she was on patrol until her daughter was born. And Lucy will probably offer to babysit. And I can’t think about babysitting right now because that’ll mean that the baby is here. And where are we going to put the baby and all the crap that goes with them?” She finally stopped to take a breath and started crying again.

He had been so caught up in worrying about her safety on the job, that he hadn’t taken into account how overwhelming this must be for her. She was dealing with everything that went with growing a human and now she had to switch directions in her career. 

Wesley gathered her into his arms and held her as she continued to sob, “We will figure everything out together and you will be an awesome mom,”

“How do you know?”

“I know because you are the strongest women and I have yet to see you shy away from a challenge,”

“I really hope you’re right,”

“I am. I always am,”

She laughed and playfully hit him, “In your dreams,” They both stood up.

“Are you feeling better? Do you want me to get you something before you lay down? Maybe some crackers?”

“I think I’m just going to just go lay down. I’m exhausted and tomorrow is going to be a long day and late night,”

“You could just skip it. I told Lucy I was going to go, but I could just tell her something else came up,”

“No, it’s a tradition. TIm and I, and Talia, have been taking our rookies to the same spot to celebrate for years,” She moved into the bedroom, “We don’t hang out with them during-”

“But didn’t you and Nyla take Lucy speed dating?” He followed her into the bedroom as she got dressed for bed.

“That was a special exception and it was Nyla’s idea,” She let out a happy sigh as she took off her bra, “Anyways it’s their welcome to the club. This last year with Jackson has been so up and down. He needs this celebration. There were a couple of times that I thought he’d wash out, but he got through it. Now he’s going to be a great cop,” She pulled on a shirt.

“Then I will let you get some sleep and go get started on my pile of work,” They kissed and he left her to get some sleep.

***  
“Tonight is supposed to be about the rookies,” Tim Bradford told Angela as they waited for drinks at the bar the following night, “We don’t invite people just for us,”

“I know that,” She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she was going to make him work for it.

“Then why is your boyfriend here,” He motioned to where Wesley was talking with Lucy and Jackson.

“First, he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my fiance. Second, your rookie invited him,” She thoroughly enjoyed the slightly sheepish look on his face.

“I didn’t realize they were friends,”

“Trauma is a powerful bond,”

Her eyes scanned the crowded bar and rested on a tall man with wavy dark hair that had just come in, “What the Hell is he doing here?” Her stomach flip-flopped. It wasn’t from seeing him. It was the ever present nausea.

He followed her gaze, “Zamora? He transferred back and he’s a TO now so he’ll be taking over for you or me,”

“So you took a sergeant's position?”

“Not yet. And I might just stay. Harper only half trained Nolan and from what I’ve heard Zamora hasn’t had a rookie complete the program yet,” Their pitchers arrived.

“It’s not your responsibility to make sure that the rookies are trained right. Well, it will be if you become a Watch Commander” They each picked up two pichers. 

As they made their way to their table her eyes locked with the dark soulful eyes of Officer Brandon Zamora. She instantly looked away. No feelings. She had no feelings whatsoever for him. Maybe a little disgust, but that was all.

They set the pitchers down and despite the hubbub at the table in front of her Angela felt eyes on her. Brandon again and he was cutting his way through the crowd to her. Instead of sitting down in the empty seat next to Wesley, she sat in his lap. She looked into his sky blue eyes and kissed him long and hard. Hopefully, Brandon also caught sight of the big and sparkly ring on her finger. 

“You’ll get more later,” She whispered in his ear as she moved to her own chair next to him.

Tim shook his head. Everyone else either looked amused or pretended they hadn’t seen anything.

An hour later everyone, except for her, was good and drunk. Wesley and Jackson must have strategized while she was gone because as soon as a shot or a drink was placed in front of her one of them stole it. So far no one else had noticed, or at least no one said anything, that she was only drinking water. Brandon had left her alone. Despite the fact that she was sober it was a good night.

At one point Nolan stood and did a long winded toast to Nyla. She didn’t exactly look happy, but she didn’t make him stop. She even smiled a little.

Angela didn’t exactly want Jackson to stand up and do something similar, but she wasn’t going to say anything to him. She wasn’t his TO anymore.

Bradford on the other hand, “Don’t even think about it, boot,”

“I’m not your boot anymore,” Lucy clapped back, “I would never dream of praising the great Tim Bradford,” 

Wesley caught Angela’s eye. He had a theory about two of them. She didn’t exactly disagree, but he didn’t know about the relationship between a TO and their rookie. She knew that was a line Tim would never cross. After everything with Isabelle she was also pretty certain he would never date another cop.

“I want to make a toast to the best TO ever,” Jackson stood up and held up a half empty glass, “Officer Lopez, soon to be Detective Lopez, stuck with me through my many stumbles and helped me figure out how to be my own cop,” Not too bad actually. She smiled at him, “And I know that she’s going to be an amazing mom. A little bit scary” The smile fell from her face. West was dead. She was going to kill him.

“Wait- Does that mean?” Lucy started, being the first to realize what the end of Jackson’s statement meant.

Angela nodded, “I’m pregnant,”

“Congratulations!” Nolan told her, “When are you due?”

“December, I think,” And that was enough of that, “Tonight isn’t about me. So Chen I think you should tell Bradford how awesome of a TO you thought he was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley and Angela get some big news that makes things more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm early again somehow. I can't promise anything for the future. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine!
> 
> Enjoy! And I really do appreciate every comment, kudos, and hit.

Angela Lopez rubbed her arms as they waited in the exam room, “Stop pacing!”

Wesley stopped and looked over at her, a distant look on his face, “Sorry,” 

“Come here,” She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, her ankles brushing up against the exam table she was sitting on, “Everything will be okay,” She hoped she was right. She was starting to like the idea of being pregnant.

There was a knock on the door. They both froze. The doctor, a smiling woman wearing black slacks and a red blouse, walked in “I’m Dr. Newton,” She extended her hand to Angela.

“Angela,” Angela shook her hand.

“Wesley,” He shook her hand as well.

Dr. Newton sat down on a wheeled stool in front of a computer monitor, “Is this your first pregnancy?”

Angela nodded.

“Congratulations!” The doctor alternated her attention between Angela and the computer screen, “And your last period was March 24th?” Angela nodded, “Which means that your due date probably is December 30th,” Dr. Newton got up and pulled a machine over to the exam table, “Any cramping or bleeding?”

“No bleeding, but a little bit of cramping,” Angela could feel Wesley’s eyes on her, but she didn’t turn to look at him. At the time she hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but maybe it had been.

The doctor gave Angela a reassuring smile, “Some cramping is normal with everything expanding,” She pulled her stool over to the exam table, “Just lay back, scoot forward,” She pulled out some stirrups that had been folded under the exam table, “And put your legs up,” She wasn’t quite expecting that.

Minutes later the machine was on. The screen started out black. Wesley took Angela’s hand. Then the view on the screen changed quickly and Angela wasn’t entirely sure what they were seeing, “Oh,” Dr. Newton murmured. Wesley squeezed Angela’s hand.

The screen settled on an image of black with two whiteish blobs, “Is that two babies?” Wesley asked before she could form the words.

“Yes,” A whittling sound with a steady beat could be heard, “That’s baby A’s heartbeat,” The sound stopped and switched to a similar sound, “And there’s baby B’s heartbeat,” Now everything felt very real. Too real Those little blobs were going to be her babies. Their babies. 

***

Five blocks away from the doctor’s office Wesley glanced over at Angela as he stopped at a red light. She was slumped back in the passenger seat staring at something he couldn’t see, “Do you want to talk?”

“What is there to talk about?”

“A lot,” The light turned green and he focused his eyes back on the road, “We need to figure out how everything is going to work. We’re going to have to move. Daycare costs for two infants are going to be crazy expensive. And then there’s just the fact that we’re going to have two babies at once,”

“I really just want to go home and sleep for the rest of the day. It’s my day off,”

“That’s not going to make this go away,”

“I know,”

“Do you at least want to stop for lunch before I take you home?” He wished he could just go home with her, but he had court in the afternoon.

Silence.

He stopped at another red light. She had turned completely away from him. He reached over and put a hand on her leg. Just to let her know he was still there.

***

She had fully intended to just sleep like she had told Wesley, but she just couldn’t get her mind to turn off. And she didn’t want to eat, but she was still unbelievably hungry. 

After an hour of trying to go to sleep, she knew what she needed. She needed The Great British Bake Off. She plopped herself on the couch and turned on a Christmas episode and instantly got pulled into that sweet world. At the end of the episode she actually felt hungry and got up to make herself a sandwich. By the end of the third episode she had retrieved her phone from the bedroom. 5 texts from her mom, 2 from Jackson for some reason, and 1 from Wesley. Her mom was the easiest to appease. She added a picture of the ultrasound to the family group chat. That should keep them busy for a while. Wesley just wanted to see how she was doing. She’d tackle that one last. Jackson’s were the most interesting.

12:32 pm  
I’ve come up with a way to make it up to you for telling everyone that you’re pregnant. I want to throw you and Wesley a gender reveal party. Nothing big or cutesy.  
12:52  
There will be no explosives or glitter involved. Just pink or blue cake. From Charm City Cakes, if I can afford it.

She had to smile at that. Her former rookie had already apologized half a dozen times. She wasn’t really mad at him. And after what had happened that morning it really didn’t seem like a big deal. If she let Jackson do this then their moms couldn’t throw her one. She might even be able to get out of a hellish baby shower. She texted a reply, /I’m down as long there’s chocolate. You’re just going to need to do two cakes./

Now she had to call Wesley. Maybe he would still be in court and she could just leave a voicemail.

“Hey,” He answered on the first ring.

“Hey. Court over?”

“Just on recess. I have 10 minutes,” He explained, “Did you get your nap? Did you eat something?”

If he was going to be like this until the babies came, he might not still be alive. “Well, since this conversation is over I’m going to go lay down now,”

“Angela-”

“Don’t wake me up when you get home,” She ended the call. Why did this have to be so hard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!
> 
> I've been a fan of Shawn Ashmore and his twin brother Aaron for a long time. I like to make their characters twins through crossovers and twisting of backstories, but I didn't want to do that with this story. So this is the result! (Althrough I do have an idea for a The Rookie/Warehouse 13 crossover where Wesely and Steve are twins.)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really like hearing about what parts you like and didn't like, it helps me to decide how to steer my story. I'll try to have the next one up by next Wednesday at the latest!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela gets some very good news!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is late because I accidentally deleted the chapter before I submitted it so I had to write the whole thing over again.
> 
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> I really do appreciate all comments, kudos, and hits! It keeps me going!
> 
> Enjoy!

Angela’s intention in getting to work early was to catch up on paperwork (at least that was what she had told herself), but in realty she’d gotten very little done. She couldn’t stop checking her phone to see if it was late enough to call Wesley. She didn’t want to wake him up, but she also wanted to catch him before he left for work. Then there were moments when she didn’t want to talk to him yet. But she knew she had to or she would be thinking about it all day and she already had enough on her mind.

She got to the bottom of a page and picked up her phone again. It was now 7:38, a full five minutes had passed since the last time she had checked. With a sigh, she unlocked her phone and called him, “Good morning,”

“So you’re allowed to wake me up, but I’m not allowed to wake you up,” Sometimes it was very annoying being in a relationship with a lawyer.

“Sorry. I thought you’d already be up,”

“Actually I was already up,”

“Of course, you were,” She fiddled with her pen, “About yesterday-”

“I was a little intense,”

She wasn’t going to respond to that, “I just need to wrap my head around the fact that I’m growing two people before I can start contemplating the finer details,”

“We do have seven months to figure out everything. Although we should probably start looking for a bigger place. It can take awhile to find the perfect house,”

She almost dropped her phone, “In less than 24 hours you’ve decided that we need to buy a house?”

“Not completely, but if we use my trust fund to pay cash for a house then that’ll save us a monthly payment we can put towards daycare,”

That was a reasonable idea and the fact that he suggested using the trust fund on his own was also pretty big, “We can start looking for a house,”

“Good. I have to finish getting ready. Let me know if there’s anything special you want for dinner,”

“I love you,” 

“Love you too,” He ended the call.

***

An hour later she stood up in the back of the roll call room. She wasn’t on active duty, so she didn’t need to be there, but it was new rookie day.

“Hey,” Her last rookie came up to her.

“How does it feel to not be the lowest rung anymore?” She asked him in reply as she took a drink of her tea. Coffee was so much better.

“It feels good. I rode with Brandon Zamora yesterday. You were a rookie with him, weren’t you?”

“Yes. Let me guess all he talked about was surfing and yoga,”

“And he quoted Buddha,”

“That’s new,” She took another drink of her tea, “How do you drink this stuff?”

Jackson smiled, “It’s all about the chai,”

“Okay people,” Sargent Grey entered the room and everyone scattered to find a seat, “It’s rookie day. Now last time we had a batch of rookies all three made completely through the program,” All eyes in the room turned to Chen, Nolan, and West who still all sat together smiling, “I don’t expect that to happen this time. I wouldn’t mind if it does, I don’t expect it to. Now for the fun part,” He looked down at his notes, “Officer Bradford will be training Officer Gabriela Bassett,” Tim glared at a blonde girl sitting at the middle spot of the front table, “Officer Harper will be training Officer Conner Vu,” The sole male of the group nervously turned around as Nyla gave him a big smile, “And out newest TO Officer Zamora will be training Officer Elle Davis,” Brandon actually winked at his boot and Angela just shook her head, “Get out there and stay safe!”

Everyone dispersed for their shops, except for Angela, “Lopez,” Grey walked over to her, “You miss training already?”

“A little. I put my form for light duty on your desk,”

“I saw that. So your appointment went well?’

“A little too well actually,”

“Oh?”

“I found out I’m having twins,”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“I’m slowly getting used to the idea, but I don’t think it’s anything Wesley and I can’t handle,”

“That I thoroughly agree with. I have more good news for you. I was talking to Detective Nguyen,” Jason Nguyen had been her TO when she was a rookie, “And he told me that O’Brien is retiring from Cold Case next year and he thinks that you’d be a good fit.

She didn’t know what to say that. It had been two weeks since she’d told Grey that she was pregnant and she had started to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t going to be detective anytime soon, “Are they sure? Did you tell him that I’ll be on light duty for the rest of the year and then out for a couple of months?”

“Yes, I told him and it won’t be a problem. Honestly, some weeks those guys leave the station less than I do. They’re also the only detectives working cold cases for the whole city so there won’t be a shortage of work to do,” 

She allowed herself to smile, “That’s amazing,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley's life is on the line when it comes to dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by a picture I saw on Facebook of a man who begged a delivery driver to be quick because his wife was hormonal and hungry. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> All feedback is very appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!

Angela  
9:28 am  
Next week I start as detective  
In cold case

Wesley  
9:32 am  
That’s wonderful!  
Do you want to go out to celebrate?  
Or do you still want me to cook?  
Anglea  
10:35 am  
Oh, you’re still cooking  
Wesley  
11:45 am  
Anything in particular you want?

Angela  
1:19 pm  
A burger  
Chocolate  
And lemonade  
1:22 pm  
Separate

Wesley  
1:43 pm  
No veggies?

Angela  
2:15 pm  
Surprise me

Wesley  
2:16 pm  
Will do  
See you tonight!

***  
“Are you just going to avoid me?” Brandon Zamora asked as he caught up to Angela on her way out of the station.

“No,” She sighed inwardly and quickened her pace.

“It sure seems like it,” He matched his pace with hers, “We need to talk,”

“No, we don’t,” This wasn’t the first time he’d tried to talk since he’d transferred, but she’d been able to shake. Now they were both on their way to the parking garage and she was in a hurry to get home so she could eat.

“I transferred so we could actually be together and then you broke up with me,”

“I didn’t break up with you because we weren’t dating. The sex was a great stress relief, but that’s all it was,” She turned to him as they walked, “I don’t date cops,”

“But you date defense attorneys,”

“No, I marry them,” She could see her car now. Her escape was visible.

“So it wasn’t the fact that I was a cop, it was my bank account that was the problem,” He moved between her and her car, “I’ve seen your fancy ring and you’re not driving your old beater anymore,”

She walked around him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Wesley works pro bono. He inherited his money,” No one was getting in between her and her burgers.  
***  
Wesley cursed as he moved things around in the refrigerator. He’d thought for sure they’d gotten ground beef on their last store trip, but it was nowhere to be seen. Of course, traffic had been way worse than usual and now he didn’t have enough time to run to the store before Angela got home. At least they had lemonade. They also had lemon-flavored water. And actual lemons. It was becoming a thing.

He pulled out his phone and started an order for Cassell’s Hamburgers. He ordered burgers and sides, but of course, they had no chocolate. They did have lemon meringue pie. He started with two slices, but changed it to a whole pie. Then maybe he could actually have some. He paused at the special instructions part. Normally he put something encouraging as he knew that the drivers had to put up with a lot and this was generally their second or third job, but not this time. /Please come as quickly as possible without breaking any traffic laws. My fiancee is pregnant and will be home very soon. If I don’t have food for her it could get ugly. She knows how to dispose of a body. Please hurry./ The last part was true. Angela had once detailed to him how she would commit the perfect murder. It had been disturbing and a little hot.

Wesley busied himself straightening up and setting the table. Then he pulled out his computer to look at house listings. He heard her key turn in the lock and then the front door opened.

“I don’t smell food,” She commented as she threw her stuff down.

“I know,” He came in from the dining room, “We didn’t have any ground beef and I only got home about fifteen minutes ago, but I ordered some and it’ll be here soon,” He walked over to her, “Go take a shower and it’ll be here when you’re done. I promise,”

“Okay, but I’m actually hungry for once so it better be here soon or you’ll be in trouble,” She walked off to the bedroom.

Just as he sat down the doorbell rang. He ran for the door and was greeted by a smiling delivery driver, “You are a lifesaver!” He told her as he took the food and tipped her extra. He took the food over to the table and started laying out the food.

“Wesley?!” Anglea called from the bedroom and he sprinted to the bedroom. His Google searches had said that after hearing a heartbeat (or in their case two) the risk of miscarriage dropped to less than ten percent, but he still worried.

“What’s wrong?” She was standing in the bedroom, half-dressed, still wet from the shower, and absolutely beautiful.

“I think I’m getting fat,” Her gaze was directed at a small bulge just above the waistline of her pajama pants, “It wasn’t there this morning. I’m not even sure if it was there when changed at the end of shift,”

“You’re not getting fat,” He assured her with a smile and then drew her into a kiss.

She pushed him back, “No, I smell food and I’m starving,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley testifies against Oscar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place a little over a month after the last one. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy!

Wesley Evers woke up as a pair of pants landed on his face. He wished he could say that was the first time that had happened. He moved the pants off his face.

“It’s official!” Angela proclaimed as she stared into her now half-empty closet, “None of my pants fit!”

“Didn’t you just buy more pants along with other clothes last weekend?’ He got out of bed and walked up behind her.

“Yes, I just don’t want to wear them yet,” She pulled one of the offending pairs of pants out of the closet as he kissed her neck and then moved to grab his own clothes, “I’m only 15 weeks and the babies are the only the size of an apple,”

He smiled. He loved that she had latched onto that, “But it’s two apples,” Wesley reminded her as she pulled on the pants.

“These are so comfortable!” 

“See? It’s not that bad,” He pulled on his own pants.

“Now I can be nice and comfy for court tomorrow,”

He paused, “You’re going to court tomorrow?” Tomorrow was the day he was testifying against Oscar Hutchinson. They’d talked about it, but she’d never mentioned that she was planning on going. He didn’t think she’d be able to because of her new assignment and her frequent doctor appointments.

“Of course,” She pulled on a shirt, “I scheduled the day off weeks ago,”

He started buttoning his shirt, “You don’t have to go. I’ll be fine,”

“I want to go. I want to support you. Wait, you don’t want me to go, do you?”

“I just don’t think it would be a good idea,” Maybe he was being paranoid, but when it came to her safety he didn’t want to take any chances, “I don’t want him finding out that we’re together or that you’re pregnant,”

“Baby, he’s not going to get out for an extremely long time,” She turned to him.

“But he escaped from the prison bus and stabbed me while serving a life sentence. He’s very dangerous,” He sat down on the bed to put his socks on.

“No, he’s an opportunist and a sociopath. He might make a smart remark. I can handle that,”

He stood up, “I don’t know if I can. I’ve been feeling so close to going over the edge all week and I can’t let that happen in court,” He took a suit jacket out of his small half of the closet.

“What if I sit in the back and pretend I don’t know you?”

“You don’t have to go that far,” He told her as he tied his tie.

She moved closer to him, “You will do great tomorrow, baby. And the bastard won’t be getting out anytime this century,”

***  
At 2 am the next morning Angela woke up to pee. One (or both) of her two apples were playing with her bladder. As she eased back into bed Wesley started to stir. One of his hands touched his scar and an expression of pain floated across his face. A nightmare. They had been getting better, but in the last week, they’d gotten worse again. She wrapped her arms around him hoping that would let him know he was safe.

***  
“What did you do after the prisoners got free in the bomb shelter?” Assistant District Attorney Miranda Wong asked Wesley as he testified in court.

“I took shelter behind a filing cabinet,”

“When you next saw Mr. Hutchinson what was he doing?”

“He was going through the first aid kit. He pulled out a pair of scissors,” Wesley felt his heart start to race, but he did his best to keep his voice even.

Wong picked up a clear plastic bag containing a metallic object, “Are these the scissors?”

His eyes zeroed in on the instrument, half of their length was discolored, “Yes,” He pulled at his shirt collar.

“Let the record reflect that the victim,” Wesley moved his right leg to the ground and draped his left leg over his right, “Has identified exhibit 4 as the weapon used in the assault. Mr. Evers, can you please tell the court what happened next?”

He hated being on this side of the witness stand and he knew it was only going to get worse, “He saw me watching him and walked over and stabbed me with the scissors,” As he said it, the moment played out in his head. He closed his eyes to make it stop.

“Mr. Evers, do you need to take a break?” He just had to get this over with.

“No, I’m fine,” His eyes searched the gallery for Angela. As much as he hadn’t wanted her to come, he was glad that she had ignored him and come anyway. He needed her strength. He found her and focused on her.

“Did the defendant say anything to you before he stabbed you?”

“He told me ‘No one cares about you enough to get me out of here’,” He hadn’t told Angela that because it had been true. A trace of sadness drifted across her face.

“What happened next?”

“I tried to stop the bleeding with my hand, but there was too much blood. I started to get light-headed. I could hear voices and shouting, but I had no idea what they were saying” He took a deep breath to steady himself, “I thought that I was going to die,”

“How did your recovery go?”

“I was in the hospital for almost a week. I had to do some physical therapy,” He paused, “The mental scars were tougher to deal with. I had panic attacks. I ended up being diagnosed with PTSD,”

“No further questions,” She went and sat down at the prosecution's table. 

Now was the real fun part. He knew Hutchinson’s lawyer, Travis Goodwin, they had even had drinks together before. He was a good guy, but he was also a good lawyer.

“Are you positive that it was my client who stabbed you?”

“Yes, I am,” Wesley knew that he had to project as much confidence as he could. This was only the beginning.

“Even though you were in a 50-year-old bomb shelter in the middle of a heatwave, while waiting on a missile strike?”

“Yes,” So Goodwin was going for the persistent approach, “I’m completely positive,”

“And you didn’t try to get away from him? A violent felon comes at you with some scissors and you just sat there and let him stab you?” His heart rate sped up again. That was the question he'd been asking himself since that day.

“Objection,” Wong said from her table, “Badgering the witness,”

“Sustained,” Judge Clarence Sharp declared from the bench.

“No further questions,” Goodwin said. 

Wesley exhaled. Now it was over.

***  
“What are you thinking about?” Wesley asked Angela as they walked on the beach. It had seemed like a relaxing idea after a stressful morning and it was ten degrees cooler.

“Why didn’t you tell me what Oscar said to you?” She wasn’t mad at him and the revelation made some of the things that happened afterward make a little more sense, “Is that why you tried to kill yourself?”

“No,” He shook his head, “I wasn’t trying to kill myself. I just wanted everything in my head to stop,”

“So you just wanted to be brain dead?” She turned away from him and looked out onto the ocean as they walked in the sand.

“No, I just wanted to not freak out about every little thing,” She turned back to him, “I wanted to be able to do my job,”

She nodded. That was the first time he’d been able to articulate what was going on in his head the day he’d almost killed himself. She took his hand in hers, “So you know that Oscar was full of shit when he said that no one cares about you?”

“Well, I know that people care about me,” He paused, “But I was the least valuable hostage in that room. There was a judge, a cop, a DHS agent, innocent civilians. I’m a defense lawyer, who works pro bono, my clients don’t even like me half the time. And if you remember, my own mother fired me,”

“But you still got her to turn on her boyfriend which led the DA to drop the charges against her,”

“It’s what I do,”

Angela stopped and dropped his hand. She put her hand on her stomach close to the spot where she had just felt a small flutter.

Wesley stopped, “Everything okay?” 

“I think so,” It had been one of the strangest sensations she’d ever felt, “I think I might’ve just felt a kick,”

“Really?” He put his hand close to hers. If it had been anyone else they’d be on the floor.

His phone rang. He moved his hand as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, “Wesley Evers,”

“Oh hi, Miranda,” She took his hand in hers again and squeezed it, “Yes. Thank you for all your help!” He ended the call and looked over at her with a smile, “Guilty on all counts!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reading! The gender reveal thrown by Jackson (with help from Lucy) is next!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are the twins two boys, two girls, or one of each?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, this chapter is okay. It was a pain to write!
> 
> Happy New Year! New Rookie in 4 days!!
> 
> All mistakes are mine!

“Why are you set on this?” Angela asked Wesley as they sat on the couch watching TV together. She was leaning against him and he had a hand on her stomach.

“Because Baby B has to be a girl,” This had been going for the past two days, “The way that she was refusing to move during the ultrasound is exactly how you act on the weekend,” He had a point, now that she didn’t have to work weekends all she wanted to do was sleep. Stupid house hunting kept on messing that up through.

“That’s not proof. You are just as stubborn as I am,” Then she felt a jab, “And someone agrees with me,” She moved his hand to where she had felt the movement, “So Baby B is a boy and we both agree that Baby A is a boy,”

“That’s not proof either,” He refuted as someone on TV explained their very delicious looking chocolate tart.

“Are we going to be like this until the party on Friday?”

“Knowing us, most likely. And us constantly discussing-’

“Arguing,” Angela corrected him.

“Whatever we want to call it’s not going to change anything. Maybe we should make a bet,”

“I like the sound of that,”

“If the babies are a boy and a girl,” He paused as the judges raved about the contestant’s tart, “Then you can’t watch baking shows for a month,”

She tried to maneuver herself to face him, but she wasn’t as agile as she normally was, “It’s my stress relief!”

“And they’re starting to increase my stress!”

“Can I go to the shooting range then?” She was half-joking.

He didn’t answer.

“If it’s two boys then you have to change all their diapers for the first month,”

“That’s doable,”

She laughed recalling what had happened the first time she had held her first nephew, “The first time I held Noah he pooped all the way up his back. I think that there was more poop outside his diaper than in it. It looked like mustard and smelled nauseatingly like popcorn. And now I want popcorn,”

***  
Angela and Wesely were the last ones to get to the gathering held in their honor. First, she had to have a snack (even though they’d just had dinner), then she couldn’t find one of her shoes (she’d only been home an hour), and then when they’d finally gotten to the car she’d had to pee.

“Think they started without us?” Angela asked Wesley as they walked up to Lucy and Jackson’s apartment.

“No, I texted Lucy while you were in the bathroom and told her that we were running late,” 

“Did you also tell her that we were running late because I’m a complete trainwreck?” Her brain seemed to be on a different planet lately. The fact that she was also in the midst of learning a new job didn’t help things.

“No, today wasn’t a trainwreck. You didn’t lose your keys and your shoe wasn’t in the fridge,” Those were all good points, but she shouldn’t be losing anything. When cops misplaced things people usually got hurt, “Are you ready to give up your baking shows for a month?”

“Are you ready to change a month’s worth of diapers?’

“What do we do if we’re both wrong?’

“That won’t happen,” She told him firmly as they reached the door of Jackson and Lucy’s apartment.

“Finally!” Lucy greeted them as she opened up the door. 

It didn’t take long for them to see the two identical cakes. They were mostly white with “Blue side or pink side of the force?’ written on the tops along with crossed pink and blue lightsabers. 

“What do you think?” Jackson asked with a huge smile on his face. They had had a week-long discussion in the shop about who the best Jedi was, which then led Angela to explain how Leia was a Jedi.

“I think they’re perfect!” Angela proclaimed, “And now we cut them!” She wanted to know that she was right and she was also hungry again.

“No, we need to know predictions first!” Lucy said, “I’ll go first and I say two girls. For no other reason than I say you’d raise two very kickass little girls,” Angela knew Lucy was wrong, but she made a good point.

“I already know what they are. There was a mishap with the envelope,” Jackson confessed. Angela stared at him. She could’ve gotten it out of him days ago.

“I say one of each,” Nolan started to ramble, “I wanted a girl after Henry, but the timing never seemed quite right,”

“I actually agree with Nolan for once,” Harper added.

Everyone looked over at Bradford who shrugged, “Boys,” She was surprised that he had come, but was happy to have him on her side.

The room’s focus shifted to Wesley and Angela.

“Baby A is a boy and Baby B is a girl,” Wesley stated.

Angela locked eyes with him, “They are both boys and he knows it!”

“I think we need to cut those cakes now,” Nolan advised.

Knives were handed out and they each positioned themselves in front of a cake. “You go first she told him,” The nerves crept into her voice.

“Wait, let me get ready to record,” Jackson said as he held up his phone, “1, 2, 3 go!” 

Wesley cut a slice out of the cake. The first thing she noticed was the chocolate cake, just as she requested. The second thing she noticed was the pink filling in between the layers of cake. Wesley had a big smile on his face. Lucy squealed. One of the babies nudged her, probably the girl.

Angela took a deep breath and then cut into the second cake, her eyes lasered focused on the color of the filling. Pink. She managed not to drop the knife or the cake on the floor. Two girls. They were having two girls. As happy noises swirled around her, she started sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry about the ending!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby kicks and dinner with lawyers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is late, but it is longer than usual.
> 
> Now that season 3 started and there is a Wopez baby on the way (*happy dance*) I'd thought I'd officially state where my story falls in terms of cannon. It diverges from cannon right before the two-part finale of season 2 *puts Armstrong in my pocket for later*.
> 
> Enjoy!

Wesley woke up to a soft thud to the head. He opened his eyes only to discover something covering his face.

“Finally! Thank God!” He heard Angela mutter from her side of the bed. 

Wesley pulled the pillow off his face and squinted at her in the darkness, “Did you throw a pillow at me?”

“I threw three pillows at you,” Her voice sounded tired and he wondered if she’d slept at all since they’d gone to bed, “You’re a heavy sleeper,”

“Why were you throwing pillows at me?”

“You were snoring,”

“I don’t snore,”

“Yes, you do and normally it’s cute, but tonight it was annoying,” The hormones were in full force and no matter how much he tip-toed he still got himself into trouble. Even when he was asleep.

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

“No,”

He stared at the dark ceiling not sure what to say.

“Does tonight mean I’m a bad mom already?” Angela asked in the darkness. She’d been quiet on the way home from the gender reveal, but he didn’t think that was what had been on her mind.

“No, it means you’re human. You were disappointed and you’re hor-” He paused before he said the bad word, “Emotional right now. You are going to be an amazing mom!”

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do with two girls. I never played house or anything like that. My brothers always destroyed my dolls and they made my Barbies anatomically correct,”

“Javier or Carlos?”

“Gabe,” He nodded, even though she couldn’t see him in their darkened bedroom. That made more sense.

“Our girls might not even like those things. I do agree with Lucy; they’re going to be very kick-ass,”

Angela sighed, “They’re certainly working on the kicking part tonight,” That coupled with his snoring was probably why she was still awake.

“Can I try to feel them?” He rolled over to his side so he was facing her. She had been feeling them for a couple of weeks, but he hadn’t been able to yet. It had been amazing seeing them on the ultrasound. Their personalities were even starting to show. Baby A was just constantly moving and doing somersaults; while Baby B was stubbornly still and barely let them get a good look at her.

“Sure you can try again,” He put his hand on her stomach and she moved it to where the action was, “This is the most active they’ve ever been,”

It happened. The first was a light tap. A smile quickly spread on his face. Then moments later a second stronger one in the same spot. “Hey,” He whispered.

“I don’t think they can hear you yet,” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“It’s still bonding time,” He kept his hand on the same spot, but he didn’t feel any more movement, “That was Baby A, right?”

“Yes. I think she’s annoying her sister. She’ll do a somersault or something and then Baby B will poke me on the other side,” It was neat to hear that the girls could still interact even though they weren’t in the same amniotic sac (there was less chance of complications that way according to what he’d read).

“I guess they’re getting a headstart on their sibling rivalry,” He moved his hand

“Lucky us,”

***

“It had a nice backyard,” Wesley pointed out as they got into the car after looking at yet another house that wouldn’t work for them. Of course, with the two that would’ve worked their offers had been rejected.

“We can’t spend all our time in the backyard. Neither of those bedrooms would be big enough for two cribs,” She lowered herself into the front seat and smoothed her dress.

“Our bed wouldn’t have fit in either of those rooms,” He got into the driver’s seat. She almost laughed. She loved him completely, but some of the things he said drove her crazy.

“No! I love these girls more than anything, but they’re not getting my master bathroom,” She put her seatbelt on, “Especially if it has a bathtub,”.

He chuckled as he started the car. 

“Now before I take a nap is there anything I need about your friends. Are the rest of them bleeding hearts like you and Cy?” Cyrus Hunt was Wesley’s best friend and the only one of his law school friends that Angela had met so far. She was meeting the rest at dinner in less than two hours.

“I guess you could say that. Matt and Jen work for the Orange County DA and Sabrina does ligation for Orange County Coast Keeper,” He drove out of the quiet neighborhood where the house with the tiny bedrooms had been located.

“Jen and Sabrina? Do you have a romantic history with either of them that I should know about?” She was half-joking. She wasn’t the jealous type, but she just wanted to know if she was getting herself into could get tense.

“Well, Matt and Sabrina have been married for over ten years and have two adorable kids,”

“And Jen?”

“She’s been married for a couple of years and had a baby a couple of months ago,” He was staring straight ahead, seemingly focused on the road. He was nervous. She was onto something, she just had to push just a little more.

“What about during law school? All those late-night study sessions,”

“We did date for a while, but it ended a long time ago. Like ten years ago,” He put his hand on her thigh, “And I never loved her as much as I love you,”

She smiled as she closed her eyes and started her nap. That was all she needed to know.

***

Angela opened her eyes and realized that they were parked in front of the restaurant, “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” She reached for her purse.

“You didn’t get much sleep last night,”

“I know,” She pulled down the visor to check her appearance in the small mirror, “But I do need to make myself look presentable,”

“I think you look sexy,”

She shook her head as she pulled a brush out of her purse, “You always say that,” She ran the brush through her hair a couple of times.

“It’s always true,” She put the brush back in her purse, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” She opened her door and climbed out of the car, and grabbed her purse. Angela checked to make sure her boobs were still fully inside her dress (they had doubled in size since she’d bought the dress) and smoothed the dress over her growing belly.

She took a deep breath as they headed into the restaurant. Of course, as soon she stepped foot in the restaurant her bladder realized she hadn’t used the restroom in almost two hours. 

“Bathroom,” She muttered as she rushed in that direction, she had learned the hard way that she had to act very quickly in these cases.

Just as she was coming out of the stall a tall blonde woman entered the bathroom holding a baby.

“Angela?” She paused as she washed her hands and looked over at the woman, “Wesley’s fiancee?”

“Yes,” Angela replied slowly. Her mind connected the dots as to this probably. Wesley had said that his friend Jen had a baby in the last year. She hadn’t exactly planned on meeting his ex-girlfriend in a bathroom, but it was what it was.

“I’m Jen. I went to law school with Wesley,” She said as she headed to the changing table on the far wall and Angela turned off the water and dried off her hands.

“And you dated him,” Angela added walking over to where Jen had started changing her baby.

“That was a long time ago,” The baby was a boy and had destroyed his diaper and outfit, “After we broke up I figured out it was better to only date guys that I didn’t have a chance of meeting in the courtroom. Less stress,”

“I completely agree,” Although she did run into Wesley on the job, it was how they met, but it was different than dating an actual cop, “How old is he?” The now naked baby boy was squirming on the changing table as his mom finished wiping him down.

“Five months,” Jen put a clean diaper on the baby, “But he’s huge. He’s almost in 12-month clothes. How far along are you?”

“20 weeks,”

“Have you found yet out if they’re girls, boys, or one of each?” Jen snapped the baby into one of those baby outfits that looked like an onesie but were fancier.

“They’re both girls. We found out last night,” Angela had told Jackson to wait a day before posting the video to Facebook. She wanted time to sit with the news before everyone started shoving pink at her.

“I wanted Jai to be a girl,” She picked up Jai and closed the changing table, “But now I’m happy he’s a boy,” She went over to the sink and started to try to wash hands while holding the baby.

“Do you want me to hold him for you?” 

“That would be a huge help. I never seem to have enough hands anymore,” Angela took the baby and put him on her hip, his legs pressed against her belly. 

Immediately Baby A sensed the intrusion and kicked at the baby on the outside. Micah didn’t seem to notice so the baby on the inside kicked him again, “One of the babies is either trying to get them to move ore trying to play,”

Jen dried her hands and took her baby back, “We’ll just have to get them together for a playdate then,”

***

“Where is she?” Sabrina demanded as Wesley joined his friends at the table.

“Hello to you too,” Wesely greeted her, “Angela is in the bathroom,”

“I think I need to go there too. Someone is a little stinky,” Jen announced as she got up from where she was sitting next to her husband at the table with her baby and diaper bag. Hopefully, they didn’t talk.

“I still say you’re making her up,” Sabrina took a sip of water with a smile. That whole thing had started because Angela had been on duty a couple of times when the meetups had happened and then the ones where she’d had the day off he’d had to meet with a client in prison.

“Layoff already,” Cy defended Wesley, “He’s posted pictures of her and I’ve met her,”

“No, you two cover for each other all the time, and pictures can be altered,” Sabrina continued, “I need hard evidence,”

“Don’t mind her,” Matt explained, “Ethan told her he doesn’t her to tuck him in anymore,”

“Even though he’s almost 11. He’s still my baby,” Sabrina said. 

“How did last night go?” Cy asked him.

“What happened last night?” Matt asked.

“Angela’s former rookie threw us a gender reveal for the twins,” Wesely explained.

“Rookie? I thought she was a nurse with her crazy work hours,” Matt said.

“No, she’s a cop. She just became a detective a couple of months back,” Wesley explained.

“Now I know she’s real,” Sabrina commented, “You wouldn’t create a cop fiancee for yourself,” Wesley wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be offended by this, “And are the boys, girls, or one of each?”

“They’re both girls!” He told them with a huge smile on his face. There was a wave of congratulations around the table. And then the other comments started.

“You have rough days coming in about 15 years,” Cy told him. He was the only one that had met Angela.

Just then Angela and Jen came back to the table with baby Jai. Smiling.

***

“Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?” Wesley asked Angela as they drove home after dinner.

“No, it was a nice evening. I had fun,” She leaned back in the passenger seat.

“So what did you and Jen talk about?” He asked, glancing over at her.

“Not much really. Baby A tried to play with Jai or she got territorial,”

“We need to give them actual names,”

“We probably won’t agree on names until I’m in labor,”

“True, but maybe we’ll be able to make a compromise. What do you think about Claire and Charlotte?”

“They’re going to be sharing a lot. I don’t want them sharing a first initial,” She looked over at him, “I’m going to take a nap,”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Andria for helping me focus my ideas. Otherwise, Anglea would've been attempting to smother Wesley instead of throwing pillows at him.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela and Wesley go house hunting!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took me so long!
> 
> Enjoy!

“I like it,” Angela said as she exited the car in front of the house they were going to look at. The house in question was a two-story grey Tudor with a garage and a white picket fence surrounded by a pristine front yard. 

“So far, so good,” Wesley agreed as he joined Angela on the other side of the car. Today was the day that they were determined to find the perfect house.

Their realtor, Jon Torres, met them at the red front door. After the pleasantries, he got down to the important things, “It’s 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half bathrooms, and 2,328 square feet. The asking price is $879,000,”

“Is there a pool?” Angela asked and she didn’t need to look at Wesley to know his expression.

“No pool,” Jon answered, “But I know you’ll still find the backyard to be very relaxing,” That was one of the most important things for her. She wanted a place where she could come home and completely unwind.

They entered the house. A staircase edged with two columns was located directly across from the front door; to the left was a living room and to the right was a dining room.

“It’s a little formal,” Was Wesley’s first reaction. It didn’t surprise Angela anymore. He was determined to give their children a childhood very different than his and it had manifested itself in their house hunt.

“With a change of paint color and some different furniture, it can easily feel like a more relaxed space,” Jon elaborated and Wesley nodded.

They walked through the dining room into the kitchen. It was one of the biggest and nicest kitchens they had seen, “Will this work for you?” Angela asked, “Because we both know who will be using it the most,”

“Yes,” Wesley answered, “I could cook some great family meals here,”

She turned around and spotted something that would be useful to her next year, “There’s a wine cooler and a little bar area!” Then she glanced out the French doors, “Can we go out on the deck?”

The realtor opened up one of the French doors and they all walked out onto the large deck that overlooked a grassy backyard that had a wooden playground structure in a far corner. Even though it felt like an oven outside the deck looked very inviting. The current owners had placed an outdoor sectional sofa out there and she could see them relaxing out there with some wine (or in her case at the moment ice water with lemon), “I love this!”

“It would be nicer if the yard was completely flat,” Wesley commented.

“You do have a nice view,” Jon pointed out. They went back inside through the other set of French doors, “This is technically the family room, but the current owners are using it as an office,” Wesley did want a home office so that he could spend less time at his actual office.

“Do we need a separate living room and family room?” Wesley asked.

“I don’t think we do,” Angela said, “I don’t see us doing any formal entertaining. Probably just friends and I know you want to host things with my family, but not your own,”

“Your family get-togethers are just more fun,” She agreed with him on that one. They’d spent last Thanksgiving with Wesley’s side of the family. It wasn’t nearly as lively as Thanksgiving dinner with her family.

They made their way upstairs where the first room they encountered was the elegant and spacious master bedroom. “Our bedroom suite would fit in here, but we’d need to get a new light fixture,” Wesley indicated the chandelier that hung in front of another set of French doors.

“Nope,” She told him with a smirk, “It stays,”

“And off the master bedroom is a balcony,” Jon indicated a small balcony on the other side of the French doors that was just big enough for a couple of chairs, “And through this door, we have Angela’s favorite room,”

Angela opened up the door to the master bathroom, “This is what I’ve been looking for!” The room had a very calming feel with a shower, double sinks, and abundant counter and storage space. And the best part was the giant soaking tub. It was truly everything she’d ever wanted in a bathroom.

“And then we have the walk-in closet,” They walked out of the bathroom and into the large closet.

Wesley looked over at Angela, “Will this stop you from throwing your clothes all over the place?”

“Maybe,” It was just her system for finding the perfect outfit to wear. Yes, it was messy, but it worked.

They left the master suite and entered the first bedroom, “It would fit two cribs and everything else that needs to go in the nursery,” Wesley mused.

“The current owners have been using the other bedroom as a nursery, but this is the bigger room so it would probably work better for twins,” Jon said. 

They moved on to the second bedroom that was indeed decorated as a nursery, “This would make a good guest room,” Wesley commented.

“Or a yoga room,” Angela countered with a smile.

The group headed back down the stairs, “I don’t like these columns,” Wesley mused. Angela wasn’t the biggest fan of them either.

“I’m sure after a month or two you won’t even notice,” Angela hoped that would convince him. She felt that this could be the house they brought their babies home to.

***

The second house of the day was grey like the first also had a red door. The front windows had an interesting diamond pattern over them and that combined with the winding cement path and delicate landscaping gave the house a cottage-like feel Wesley thought.

They met up with Jon just inside the house, “This house has 3 bedrooms, and 3 and a half bathrooms. There’s also an additional building in the backyard that could be used as an office and there’s a pool,” He didn’t need to see Angela’s face to know her reaction to the last part.

“How much are they asking?” He hoped that this wasn’t another one they’d have to walk away from because the price was too high.

“This one is $898,000, but it would be a shorter commute,” Jon answered, “What do you think so far?”

From the front door, Wesley could see all the way to the kitchen in the back of the house, “I do like the flow, it’s open, but there’s a clear space for everything. The living room is a good size, but I don’t think the dining room is big enough to have Angela’s family over,”

“We don’t have to have my family over,” Angela looked pointedly at him.

They walked thru the dining room and into the kitchen, “It’s a little plain and very white like the rest of the house,” Angela commented. Wesley wasn’t surprised. Angela liked their walls to be colorful and she liked to change those colors often.

“I would expect a house at this price point to have a better kitchen, but it would work,” Wesley mused, “And I’m going to be spending more time in here than you,”

Jon opened up the door that led to the backyard. To the right was a concrete patio where the current owners had set up some tables and chairs. To left was the pool and a small area of grass.

“We’d have to put a fence right away,” Wesley commented.

“I agree,” Angela added, “That would have to be one of the first things we did,”

“And in here,” Jon opened up the door to a small building located in the backyard, “Is an extra living area and that could be used as an office,” The current owners had it set up like a studio apartment. There was a small kitchen, a bed, and a desk.

“I would prefer to have the office in the main house,” Wesley commented, “This would make a good guest room,”

“Or it could also be a mother-in-law suite,” Jon suggested.

“No,” They both said at the same time.

They walked back out into the backyard thru a sliding glass door and into a covered portion of the backyard that contained an outdoor sofa and a grill, “This would make a great entertaining space for my family and our friends over,” The huge smile on her face told him that he was going to be in for an uphill battle when it came to the pool.

“Where does that door go?” Angela asked as walked back to the main house. The door in question had four steps that led up to it and it was not the door they’d used to enter the yard.

“It goes into the master bedroom,” Jon answered.

“Oooh, I don’t like that,” Angela pointed out as Jon opened up the door, “It’s the bigger door so I feel people will try to use it to get into the house and that’s my space!”

“Our space,” Wesley corrected as he followed Jon and Angela up the short set of steps and into the master bedroom.

“It’s a good size,” Angela remarked as they looked around the room, “Just very white. And that closet is smaller than what we have now,”

“I guess that means my clothes are going in the guest room closet then,” Wesley commented.

“You can half of that one,” She told him, “The girls will need the rest because of all the clothes your mom has bought them,” That was true. He tried not to think about how much his mother was already spoiling his daughters. In the week since they’d found out the twins were girls she’d already brought over a giant tub of matching pink outfits and bows. 

“No!” Angela had opened the door to the master bathroom, “There’s no bathtub! How there can be a master bathroom with no bathtub?” He moved in behind her to see what the issue was.

“There’s a bathtub in the bathroom down the hall,” Jon explained. The bathroom looked nice enough, maybe a little on the small side. There were double sinks, plenty of storage, and a large shower.

“At least there is a tub somewhere,” Angela conceded.

They left the bathroom and headed to the first of two bedrooms, “Would this work for a nursery?” Jon asked as they all stepped into the bedroom.

“I think so, but it might be a little tight,” Wesley looked around the room, “We have to put two cribs, a dresser, a changing table, and a rocking chair,”

“The other bedroom is slightly bigger,” Jon advised and they headed to the other bathroom just down the hallway to the bathroom, “And here is the promised bathtub,”

“The tub is a little small,” Wesley agreed with her on that and there was a weird arched door on the tub, “And with two girls one sink will probably cause fights,”

They continued down the hall to the third bedroom, “It’s just a little bigger,” Angela observed, “And it’s farther away from the master and at the front of the house. It might just be better to put them in the other bedroom,”

“This would make a nice office for me,” Wesley said.

“Until the girls decide they want their own rooms and then you get booted to the backyard,” Angela told him with a smirk.

***

“So this is the house your mom thinks is perfect for us,” Angela said as she looked up at their third house, a two-story house with grey siding surrounded by a white picket fence.

“Your mom agrees too,” Wesley pointed out as he climbed out of the car.

“We really shouldn’t have introduced them,” Angela commented as she climbed out of the car. She put one hand on her belly as one of the babies moved with a small kick.

“Everything okay?” Wesley asked as he came over to her side of the car. Every single time she put a hand on her belly someone always asked if she was okay! She knew that people meant well, but it was getting annoying.

“Contents shifted during travel,” She informed with a smile. Angela had been tempted to go off on him about his question, but she wanted to make sure he came to her with his anxiety, “So this is what an almost 2 million dollar looks like,”

They walked up to the house where they met Jon outside the red front door, “Last house of the day,”

“Last house period,” Angela corrected him. She was tired of giving up all her free weekend days to house hunting. Baby stuff was quickly taking over their apartment and she was starting to get the urge to nest.

“And since you sent me this listing I assume you already know the details,” Jon told Wesley. She wondered if Wesley had explained why they wanted to look at a house that was a million dollars more than their original budget.

“We do,” Wesley nodded curtly.

Jon opened the door and the group walked into the house. The front door opened into a hallway that branched off into a living room and a dining room, “It’s not very open, but that’s not a deal breaker,” Angela commented. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to even get Wesley to look at the house so she was going to make all the positive comments she could.

“It’s a little formal,” Wesley critiqued as they entered the living room. The centerpiece of the room was a fireplace surrounded with tan tile and bordered by built-in shelves.

“A different paint color and furniture can change,” Jon explained once again.

“This on the other hand is very cozy,” Angela remarked as they entered the dining room. There were the usual table and chairs, but there were only 3 chairs. The rest of the seating space was on benches in one of the corners of the room, “Are these built-in?”

“Yes,” Jon answered.

“Would we be able to fit two highchairs in here?” Wesley asked and Angela almost rolled her eyes. 

“Of course,” Angela told him as they headed into the kitchen, “Is this big enough for you?”

“It’s too big,” Wesley answered as they both looked around the spacious kitchen, “There’s no way we’d be able to fill all these cabinets,”

Jon shook his head, “This is the first time I’ve had a client complain about too much cabinet space,” That didn’t surprise her Wesely was probably one of the only people to work his way through law school while having a hefty trust fund just sitting there.

“I like this living space,” Angela commented indicating an area close to French doors where the current owners had placed an area rug and couch, “The girls and I could hang out here while you cook,”

Jon pointed out a full bathroom just off the kitchen before they headed through the French doors and out into the backyard.

“Now this is a backyard!” Angela exclaimed. There was a brick patio with chairs and tables. A good size pool occupied a fenced portion and off to the left side right side was open grass.

“It’s a good size. I do like the fact that there’s a good deal of grass and the pool is already fenced off,” Angela was a little shocked that Wesley had something good to say about the house.

“And over here we have the finished two-car garage,” Jon led them to a building that sat in the backyard.

“Finished?” Angela wondered, “How can a garage be finished?”

They entered the building and it was indeed finished complete with a skylight and built-in cabinets along 3 walls, “This is a bit excessive for a garage,” Angela stated.

“You have met my mother, haven’t you?” Wesley countered.

They walked back into the house thru the other set of French doors, “This is the fourth bedroom, but it would also make a good office,”

“This would make a good office,” Wesley reluctantly commented as he looked around.

“Look no columns,” Angela smirked at Wesley as they walked up the stairs. 

“More built-ins,” Angela said as they entered the master bedroom, “But I think it would work,”

“Where do we put our dressers?” Wesley asked. He was right in a way. The built-in cabinets did take up one whole wall of the room, but they provided enough storage for their clothes and there were two closets as well.

“We won’t need them with all the storage space from the built-ins,” She instructed, “And now I must check out the master bathroom,” The bathroom was plenty big, “There’s a bathtub!”

They entered the first upstairs bedroom. One wall had wallpaper with stars on it. There were also shutters on the wall by the windows, which seemed a little strange, “It might be a little tight for a nursery, but it would make a decent guest bedroom,” Wesley mused.

“I think it would work as a really cute nursery with some purple paint,” Angela could just see herself rocking her babies to sleep in that room.

Next to the bedroom was the laundry room, “This is tiny,” Wesley looked pointedly at Angela, “And I know that you would have laundry baskets all over the hallway,” What was the point of putting all your clothes away if you were just going to get them out again?   
  


“This is a nice bathroom, but there’s only one sink and with two girls sharing that could be a problem,” Angela commented as they looked in on the third bathroom.

“It probably won’t be an issue for a while,” Jon chimed in.

Angela shrugged as they headed to the last bedroom. This bedroom had light blue walls and the ceiling was painted like a blue sky with white wispy clouds. It was about the same size as the other room and once again had the window shutters inside the room. The room also sent her mind spinning with ideas for the nursery, “Oooh, this would make a great Harry Potter nursery!” 

***

“Why are you eating a whole a container of ice cream?” Wesely asked Angela shortly after they’d arrived home from their house hunting marathon. He wasn’t even aware they had ice cream.

“It’s only a pint. And you dragged me all over LA county in 90 degree weather. And it’s making the babies very hyper,” That last part concerned him.

“Are you sure that’s okay?” Wesley sat down next to her at the table.

“It’s fine,” She assured him, “They get like this when I drink ice water too,” Wesely made a mental to note to ask about it at her next doctor’s appointment.

“We need to make a decision so we can buy our first house,” Wesley started, “What did yiou think about that first house in Tujunda?”

“I really liked it! The deck and the balcony were amazing! And that bathroom was heaven!” She dipped her spoon back into her ice cream “But the commute would be almost an hour in good traffic and we could both get called in at any time,”

“That is the major downside of that house. I would’ve preferred it to have a flat backyard. It was also a little too formal,”

Angela smirked as she ate another spoonful of ice cream, “You’d get over it. That second house in Woodland Hills was closer to work, but it was too white,”

“Knowing you, you’ll repaint it several times,” Every couple months she’d come home with cans of paint and they’d repaint the apartment, “Still the bedrooms were on the small side and my office would eventually have to be in that apartment in the backyard. Fencing off the pool would also be difficult,”

Angela licked her spoon, “So can we agree that we’re not going with the second house because it doesn’t have a bathtub in the master bathroom?”

He shook his head.

“Admit it, you didn’t hate the third house,” She was right. He didn’t hate it.

“It was a decent house. It had the best backyard. Even through there was a pool it was nicely fenced off and there was was still plenty of grass,” He mused, “I just think it was a little too big for what we need,”

“I’d rather us have too much room now then outgrow it in a couple of years and have to go through this whole process all over again,”

“Does that mean that you’re open to the idea of having a third kid?”

She stuck her spoon into what was left of the ice cream, “Let’s have these bananas first,” Her nicknames for the babies changed with the fruit that was as big as they were, “And get married. Then we can DISCUSS having a third kid,” He considered that progress.

“That third house was also the closet to where we work, which means that we’d get to spend more time at home,”

“You really are warming up to that house, aren’t you?” She smiled at him.

“I do think it would work the best for our family and knowing my mom she’d probably gift us any house we picked. Unless you’d prefer the one in Tujunda?”

“No, I agree with you, I think the one in Studio City close to work would be the best fit for us,”

“It’s decided then,” He declared, “Can I have a bite?”

She showed him the empty container, “We were hungry!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> If there's anything you'd like to see in this story let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela and Wesley got to a party with Angela's family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent Spanish being spoken.
> 
> Enjoy!

Wesley thoroughly enjoyed getting together with Angela’s family over his own. When he was a kid he’d found his family events boring. When he was an adult he still found them boring, but he also had to deal with subtle comments (and not so subtle after the drinks started flowing) about his choice of law school and the way he’d chosen to practice law. With Angela’s family, it was always loud and there was always something going on. Hard work and dedication were valued more than money.

“So when are you guys moving into that sweet house?” Angela’s oldest brother, Javier, asked Wesley and Angela at a going party for her third oldest brother, Gabe, who was moving to Ohio for his work.

“In three weeks,” Wesley took a drink of his beer, “We close on Monday,”

“Maybe you guys can host some of the holidays in the future,” Javier’s wife, Mercedes, suggested, “Since you’ll have the room,”

“That’s our intention, mine at least” Wesley looked over at Angela, who was sitting next to him. He knew she wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea as he was.

“Just not this year,” Angela stood up, one hand on her belly (Wesely resisted the urge to ask her if she was okay), “By Christmas, the babies will either already be here or I’ll be as big as a house. And now I need to go use the bathroom and spend some quality time in the air conditioning,”

“That’s like the 12th time in two hours,” Gabe commented.

“I have two spaghetti squashes using my bladder as a trampoline,” Angela walked inside leaving some confused looks in her wake. Wesley just smiled.

“She means that the babies are the size of spaghetti squash,” Emily, Carlos’s wife, explained before Wesely had a chance to, “Some pregnancy apps use food as a reference for how big the baby is at different points in the pregnancy,” She finished wiping off her daughter’s face and unleashed the toddler on the backyard.

***

It wasn’t that Angela was avoiding her mom at her brother’s going away party she just didn’t feel like spending the whole party talking about the babies and the baby shower. Of course, her mom was standing right outside the bathroom door when she exited.

“ _ Will October 3rd work for the baby shower? _ ” Gloria Lopez accosted her daughter in Spainish.

“ _ I don’t know _ ,” Angela tried to process the question, “ _ That’s 4 days before Wesley’s birthday _ ,” She had hoped to do something special for his birthday this year because he’d still been recovering last year and they hadn’t been able to do much.

“ _ Patrice brought that up, but we figured you guys could celebrate another day, _ ” Of course, they always had an answer for why things should be done their way.

“ _ Do I even need a baby shower? _ ” Angela was pretty sure she knew the answer to that question, but she thought she’d try anyway, “ _ We can get the babies everything they need _ ,” She sat down on a chair at the kitchen table. If she was going to have this conservation she was going to it sitting down with food close by.

“ _ Of course, you need a baby shower _ ,” Gloria Lopez proclaimed as she sat down on another chair, “ _ It’s not just about gifts. It’s more about celebrating those wonderful babies, _ ”

“ _ Okay _ ,” Since she wasn’t going to get out of the baby shower she might as well try to make sure she’d enjoy herself (if that was even possible), “ _ By October we should be settled in our new house so we can just have it there _ ,”

“ _ No, we’ll have it at Patrice’s so you don’t deal with the cleanup _ ,” Angela knew that was probably a subtle jab at her housekeeping.

“ _ I want to see the guest list before you send out the invitations _ ,”

“ _ Why _ ?”

“ _ So I can make sure the two of you don’t go overboard and invite a ton of people we don’t know _ ,” She had seen their original guest list for the wedding.

“ _ It’s really nothing for you to worry about _ ,”

“ _ If I’m going to have a baby shower I would like for it to be small and intimate,” She looked pointedly at her mother, _ “Just how I want my wedding to be,”

“ _ We can probably cut the invite list down to 100 _ ,” 

“ _ Down to a 100? I’m going to be over 7 months pregnant by that point _ ,” Angela picked up a brownie that had been taunting her since she sat down, “ _ I don’t want to have to socialize with a bunch of people I barely know when I’m huge _ ,” She took a bite of her brownie.

“ _ I don’t know why you want to stop people from celebrating your babies, _ ” Angela took another bite of her brownie as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“ _ I’m not stopping people from celebrating my babies. I just don’t see why the shower has to be a huge event _ ,”

Her mother sighed, “ _ I guess we can try to keep it small _ ,” Angela finished her brownie.

“ _ That’s all I ask _ ,” She grabbed three more brownies before getting up, “ _ And for no cutsie games _ ,”

“ _ Oh, I started training Shawna so she can cover for me when you go into labor _ ,” Angela stopped in her tracks. She knew this was coming. Shortly after her oldest brother’s first baby had been born her mom had started in that when Angela had her children she’d be in the delivery room. Angela had only been 17 so kids weren’t even a blip on her radar.

“ _ Wesely and I decided that we’ll be the only ones in the delivery room _ ,” She started slowly, “ _ You can still be in the waiting room, _ ”

“ _ Are you sure? Your Abuela was much more supportive than your father when you and your brothers were born _ ,” 

“ _ Wesley is nothing like that asshole _ !” That confused Angela a little. Her mother had loved Wesley from the moment she meant him at Carlos’s wedding. When they’d gotten engaged she’d even said that she knew Wesley would never abandon Angela.

“ _ Don’t talk about your father like that! He had his faults, but he was still your father _ ,” Angela suddenly felt exhausted. Her mother always defended her father even though he never did anything to help her even before he left.

“ _ A father would’ve been more supportive. A true father would’ve worked multiple jobs or help take care of his children. A true father would’ve come around more than once a year _ ,” Her mom always defended him. It was never his fault he left.

Angela opened up the door to the backyard with her hand that wasn’t holding the brownies. The hot air hit her at full blast as she exited the house.

***

“Run away! Monster! Run away!” Two-year-old Sophia yelled as she chased after her ten-year-old cousin Andrew.

“Make her stop!” Andrew pleaded as he maintained his lead over the toddler.

His older brother, Noah, momentarily looked up from his phone, “Consider it your karma and handle it with dignity,”

The adults chuckled. Wesley couldn’t wait to see his kids get in on the action.

“No more terrorizing!” Carlos told his daughter as he scooped her up.

The door to the house opened up and Angela came out holding brownies and looking upset. Wesley got up and walked over to her, “Everything okay?” He quietly asked her.

“I just want to go home and take a bath,” She answered as her mother exited the house.

“We can go,” Wesley agreed.

“No, not yet,” Angela’s mom interjected, “Luis isn’t here yet and he hasn’t seen you pregnant yet,”

“Mom I don’t think Luis is coming,” Javier told her firmly. Luis was the youngest of Angela’s brothers. He still lived with their mom and he’d had at least 5 different jobs in the almost 18 months Wesley been with Angela.

“He has been working a lot” Gloria excused.

Gabe walked up to Angela “You make sure Javiera Carla and Gabriella Luisa know who I am,”

“Of course,” Angela told him, “But those won’t be their names,” Wesley had thought Gabriella Luisa was pretty, but Angela didn’t want to name the babies after real people.

They hugged. Angela and Wesley headed out to a chorus of more goodbyes.

  
  
  
  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and feedback are highly appreciated!


End file.
